EXILE
by Daughter of Vayu
Summary: Magic is something that you have to pay in certain price. For Arthur, it would cost him his life, but he knew he has to protect his city and his 'family'. Eventual USUK and other pairings. Not sure yet.
1. Prologue : Clash of the Titans

**A/N : Yup, I'm starting a new story. Sorry for the shortness. This one would be sooo much longer than Stardust to Remember You By (more than 20 chapters I think). This is only the prologue though. Hope you'd like it!**

**Summary : Magic is something that you have to pay in certain price. For Arthur, it would cost him his life, but he knew he has to protect his city and his 'family'. Eventual USUK and other pairings. Not sure yet.**

**Disclaimer : I'll do this just once (since it'd be bothersome to write disclaimer in each chapter). Hetalia characters belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. I just played with them. The OCs are mine though.**

**Warning : Bad grammar, OOC-ness (especially for Arthur), minor OCs, shounen-ai.**

**Please read and review! Now, enjoy the story!**

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

**Clash of the Titans**

* * *

The wind started to pick up as the two figures stood in front of each other. Ivan Braginski held his gun up to Arthur's face as the rain fell down from the sky. The two figures stood there, not moving an inch from their place. A small smile formed on Arthur's lips as he looked into those violet eyes.

"This is really had to end up like this, isn't it Ivan?" asked Arthur Kirkland softly.

"Unfortunately yes, my comrade," said Ivan. That innocent smile never left his face. "Too bad, Arthur."

"You know I can't use my magic anymore," said Arthur calmly.

"I do know. That's I'm pointing my gun at you. There's no way I could beat your magic, Arthur. But it's too late, isn't it?"

"It is," said Arthur.

"You're a fool, Arthur. If you just give up the city, you would never be beatened like this, da?" said Ivan. "I wonder why you do that. What's the importance of this hell hole anyway?"

"The same reason why you want to take over this city."

"This place is too small for both of us."

"One of us has to be dead."

"I hate that it has to end up like this, Arthur."

Arthur didn't say anything as he lowered his arms. There was no used to stay alive this time. There was no way. This is the end. He already cheated death for countless times. He couldn't even believe that he was still alive.

Unfortunately he hadn't say good-bye to Alfred.

Well, that was too bad.

Anyway, this was it.

_Good-bye, my dear Alfred…_

He closed his eyes slowly as he saw the gloved finger on the trigger and pulled it. This was his last moment.

He saw the smiling face and those sky-blue eyes under the dirty-blond hair. Arthur smiled.

_Alfred._

* * *

__**Done! Please tell me what do you think?**


	2. 1 Porcelain

**A/N : Here's the first chapter... Eh... Hope this is okay... (no matter how many times I already do this, it always felt like the first time).**

**I'd like to say thank you to : lunanigh282 and kunekomimi96 for putting this story in their Favorites list. To : lunanigh282, RandomWriter57, The Whomping Pillow (I love your pen name!), Zemno and Dawnstar10K for following this story. And to : Chayton who gave me review. Thank you guys!**

**Warnings: I think it'll be the same with the first chapter.**

**Please, read and review! Beware; grammatical errors! Feel free to point it out...**

* * *

**ACT. 1**

**Porcelain**

* * *

"Arthur, are you okay?"

The quiet sound of Matthew Williams greeted his ears as Arthur Kirkland turned around. He looked at the taller boy with wavy blond hair and those blue-eyes with slight tint of violet. Arthur let out a small smile as he nodded.

"I am fine, Matthew," he said softly.

"But you look paler than usual," said Matthew.

He had lived with Arthur for two years now, along with eight other people. But mostly, it was only him and Arthur at the Manor on the day time. The others had their own work to do. In the afternoon though, there were more people in the Manor. That was why, the other guys entrusted Matthew to take care of Arthur.

But of course, it could raise a question. Who was Arthur Kirkland? Why did he live in a big house with so many people? Who were they?

First thing first, no one really knew who Arthur Kirkland was. They only knew that Arthur was the owner of a big Manor in the outskirt of the city among other things. Beside Matthew, the people who lived in the Manor were Alfred F. Jones, Matthew's twin brother (despite the different last name), Feliciano and Lovino Vargas, Ludwig Beilschmidt, Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, Francis Bonnefoy and Kiku Honda. All of them were being picked up by Arthur when they felt that they ready to throw away their life.

Arthur saved them, and they were grateful for that. Arthur was their brother, best-friend, family. Even in his current state, too pale skin, scrawny, and fragile body, they loved him in different ways. Arthur was like a porcelain. Beautiful, yet fragile.

"Are you fine with not going to work today, Matthew?" asked Arthur as he leaned into his chair.

"I'm fine. I can work from home," said Matthew. He was an editor for a small literature magazine. Arthur let him used the spare room on the first floor as an office for his works. Matthew was grateful for that. "Alfred said he would be home soon today. You want me to cook something?"

"I'll take care of the cooking," said Arthur.

"Let me help you!" said Matthew. He had to make sure that Arthur wouldn't destroy the kitchen. It was horrible when he had to face Ludwig's anger because he couldn't keep Arthur out of the kitchen.

When they were preparing the dinner, they heard the front door opened and heard two people chatting with each other. Matthew quickly recognized the voice as Francis' and Antonio's. He wiped his hands clean with a washcloth before greeted them.

"Matthieu!" Francis greeted him cheerfully. "Where's Arthur?"

"Errr… in the kitchen?" said Matthew.

"You let him in the kitchen?!" asked Francis angrily as he rushed to the kitchen. His eyes widened at the sight of Arthur, wearing his usual black apron. But what surprised Francis wasn't the apron, but the fact that Arthur was holding up his hand and there was a trickle of blood running down his finger. Apparently, he had cutting his fingers by accident.

"Arthur!" said Francis. "What are you doing here?" Francis quickly grabbed his hand and examined the wound. He let out a sigh. "I'm not sure you are permitted to enter the kitchen after what happened last time. Ludwig won't be happy if he knew."

"I'm with Matthew," said Arthur. "It should be fine."

"Whatever you say, Arthur," said Francis as he placed a small peck on Arthur's cheek.

"Y-you… you frog!" Arthur exclaimed while his face slightly blushed. He washed his wound and reached for band-aid in the first-aid kit box before wrapped it carefully on his wound. Antonio entered the kitchen and let out a small laugh as he gave Arthur a small hug.

"Now now, Arthur… We all know that you shouldn't be here…" said Antonio while pushing Arthur's back out of the kitchen. "Just leave the food with Matthew and Francis, okay? You can help me with the groceries."

"G-git! I want to make dinner!" said Arthur stubbornly.

"But we don't want the others have to be brought to the hospital because of food poisoning, right?"

Arthur gave him a small pout but left the kitchen nevertheless. Francis gave a small sighed as he glanced at Matthew. The two of them started to make dinner while Arthur and Antonio sorted the groceries. Antonio was working as a waiter in a café, the café which in fact was owned by The Vargas Brothers. Francis was a model. Arthur himself was a famous writer even if he kept his real identity as a secret. No one knew who he really was except for his 'family'.

After they sorted the groceries, Antonio decided to help Arthur with their laundries. They chatted for a bit, but mostly about Arthur's condition. Lately, he often was being sick like sudden dizziness and so on. It worried them so much, and they all knew what was happening.

You see, there was a reason why Arthur chose these people. They were all the same.

They were all magic users.

But, magic required a certain amount of payment, depended on the strength of it. Some of these obeisances were pretty easy, but some of them were dangerous. Like Arthur's.

"ARTIE, I'm HOOOMMMEEE!"

"Alfred, please, not the loud voice!"

"Ve~! Ludwig has come home!"

"Potato bastard!"

"Ah, _konbanwa, minna-san… Tadaima_!"

Arthur could hear the loud step of a certain American when he suddenly greeted by two pairs of arms which quickly engulfed him in a bone-crushing hug. Alfred F. Jones was a tall man, with dirty blond hair with a cowlick that refused to go down and a pair of sky blue eyes. Behind him, there was a tall blond man with icy blue eyes and almost stoic expression; Ludwig Beilschmidt. There were also a pair of Italian twins Feliciano and Lovino Vargas, along with a quiet Japanese man, Honda Kiku.

Arthur smiled at them.

"Welcome home," he said. "Ah, Ludwig… It was so rare to see you coming home along with the others."

"I'm leaving earlier," said Ludwig as he ruffled Arthur's hair (even though the Brit was three years older than him). "What happened to your hand?" asked Ludwig as he reached for Arthur's band-aided hand and examine it. "You're not doing something dangerous, are you?"

"I'm not doing anything," said Arthur. "I just accidentally cut it when I prepared the dinner."

"You cook?" asked Ludwig. He could see from the corner of his eyes that Feliciano and Lovino shuddered in fear.

"No. Francis and Matthew take over the kitchen," said Antonio.

"_Yokatta_," mumbled Kiku.

"Artie, you shouldn't move too much," said Alfred, hadn't let Arthur go from his arms. "You look paler than usual. Does Matthew take care of you alright?"

"He does, Alfred! And my name is Arthur, not Artie," said Arthur.

After Ludwig and Alfred left to take a bath and change their clothes, Francis announced that dinner was ready. They stepped into the huge kitchen and sat around the table. Even though they had a big dining room, no one liked to eat there. Everyone told about their day during the dinner while Arthur would listen to them. A small smile never left his lips.

Feliciano praised the food. He was a chef in a small café where Antonio worked as the waiter and Lovino worked as the manager. The Vargas Brothers own the café. Kiku was an owner of an otaku shop. Both Ludwig and Alfred worked at the police force. And that was them, a one big happy family.

"And so, I asked Lars to bring his wife in our next drinking party!" said Alfred excitedly. "And he was blushing like a school girl. I've seen his wife before; she's very small compared to Lars, but when you look at him, you'll see how much he loves her."

Ludwig gave a small comment about Alfred story, but no one really heard him talk. Arthur stood up from his seat to get some water when suddenly his hand stopped as a splitting headache attack him. Arthur could feel his knee buckled as he fell onto the floor before no one could catch him.

"Arthur-san!"

Kiku, the closest one to him rushed to his side as the quiet man helped Arthur. Arthur could feel the throbbing pain attack his head. He felt something. A presence of someone.

_Magic user_.

"Arthur! Are you okay?" asked Alfred.

"Magic user…" said Arthur quietly. "I can feel them…"

"Potato bastard! Bring those guys to check on the front door!" said Lovino pointed at Francis and Antonio.

Ludwig hated it when Lovino ordered him around, but he said nothing. He knew that right now, the safety of the manor is more important. So, he led Francis and Antonio to the front door. Carefully, Ludwig pulled out his Luger while Francis grabbed a baseball bat in the hallway. They reached the front door while the knocking sound still could be heard.

Antonio stood up to reach the handle and he opened the door.

There was a young girl, with dark brown hair tied with red ribbons, tanned skin and blue dress. She looked up at Ludwig who had his Luger pointed out to the girl's face as she spoke in a firm voice.

"I need to talk to Arthur."

* * *

**Eehhh... review? Please? No flames, though. Flames are only for summoning the devil.**

***Russia appears* You called?**

**No! *Push Russia's head down* Please review!**


	3. 2 Questions

**A/N : Update! Even though I know I'm supposed to finish my General Chemistry homework, I post this instead... *shrug* I'm sorry if this chapter is messed up since I keep popping random information here and there... *sigh* I hope it isn't annoy you...**

**Thanks to : Dawnstar10K, Chayton, Worst3ver and The Whomping Pillow for their reviews. And also to Worst3ver, alchemisthetaliapirates, and rhired191 for following this story. And to Worst3ver for putting this story in their favorite list. Thank you very much!**

**Please read and review! Beware of grammatical errors!**

* * *

**ACT. 2**

**Questions**

* * *

"My name is Angelique," said the girl as she sat in front of Arthur. Arthur nodded at the girl. They were in his study; Arthur sat behind his mahogany desk while beside him stood Alfred and Ludwig. Angelique—the girl—had ask to talk only to Arthur, but for safety caution, Alfred and Ludwig decided to follow him. Besides, they needed to hear what this girl wanted to talk about. From Arthur's reaction earlier, they knew that Angelique was a magic user.

"I work in Sunflower Inc. for these past few months," Angelique continued.

"As in Ivan's?" asked Alfred.

"Yes. Mr. Braginski is my employer, and I know who he is, that he is a magic user," said Angelique. "I know how cruel he could be. And that's why I came to you, Arthur. I'm here to warn you about Mr. Braginski's plan."

"Why?" asked Ludwig. "One does not simply say they were Ivan's employee and brag about their boss' evil plan."

"And that's why I came to Arthur," said Angelique. "I really need your help, Arthur. I'm a magic user, and I know that you are Mr. Braginski's archenemy. I know his intention."

Arthur didn't say anything as he stared at his fingers. This girl appeared out of nowhere and suddenly told him that he knew Ivan's intention. Everybody should be suspicious. But Arthur decided to hear the girl anyway.

"Give her a chance, Ludwig," said Arthur.

Angelique smiled slightly as she heard Arthur's words. The young girl arranged her words for awhile before she told the story.

"I know that there is a war going on in this city. The war between magic users. As a magic user myself, I can feel the presence of them. When I started working for Mr. Barginski, I felt the same feeling. I knew Mr. Braginski isn't a normal human, that he is a magic user… a strong one," said Angelique. "But I don't like the feeling. I'm afraid of him. I'm starting to look up for more information about this war, until I heard about you.

"I talked to many people until I met her, The Guardian of Destiny," said Angelique. "She show me my way to you."

"The Guardian of Destiny? What the hell is that?" asked Alfred.

"As the name said, the guardian of destiny," said Angelique sharply. "She is a strong magic user, but she takes no part in this war." Angelique sighed as she continued her story. "Mr. Braginski doesn't know that I'm a magic user. I tried to hide my power, and he never gets suspicious. From his men, I know that Mr. Braginski planning to attack this Manor."

"That's not new information," said Ludwig. "It's not like Ivan never tried to attack this place."

"But he already got a few numbers of strong magic users and took them as his family whether they want it or not. Mr. Braginski never hesitates to force people to follow him. I don't think your Manor could stand the attack of Mr. Braginski and his new force. I don't like this war, Arthur…" said Angelique. She gripped the soft fabric of her dress tightly.

"Have you met them? Ivan's new 'family'?" asked Arthur calmly.

"Just one person," said Angelique. "He got this silver white hair and red orbs…"

Ludwig could feel his heart skipped a beat as he heard the description. _No it couldn't be… It couldn't be…_

"… and that smirk and infamous laugh…"

He could feel Arthur's eyes were on him, wide open, full with concern.

"… His name is Gilbert. Gilbert Beilschmidt."

Ludwig gripped the edge of Arthur's mahogany desk tightly to stop his trembling body as the name reached his ears, transmitted into his brain as his consciousness recognized the name very well.

_Why, Bruder?_

* * *

They let Angelique stay, since the girl got nowhere to go. Arthur kindly cleaned the guest room with Ludwig. He wanted to talk to Ludwig in private.

"I'm sorry about what happened, Ludwig," said Arthur as he put on a new sheet on the bed. "I'm glad that you finally found your brother, but… not in this way…"

Ludwig didn't say anything as he drowned in his own thought. Since he was fifteen, he was separated from his older brother. That was long before he met Arthur. Ludwig always tried to find Gilbert, but without so much success. When he was ready to let go, he met Arthur; the one who told him not to forget or let him go. Because Arthur knew, for Ludwig, Gilbert meant everything. And now, he finally found Gilbert.

As an enemy.

"It's not your fault, Arthur," said Ludwig. "At least I know where he is. When the time comes, I'll meet him."

"As enemy?" asked Arthur.

"I don't know," said Ludwig. He reached out and brushed Arthur's hair softly like he always did. Only in front of Arthur, Ludwig could remove his stoic façade. Because Arthur knew everything about him. Not only him, but also knew everything about everyone in this Manor. Because they were Arthur's family. "I hate to think about this, Arthur."

"Then don't," said Arthur. He smiled softly at the taller man in front of him. "Now, would you kindly take more pillows from the next room?"

"Ja," said Ludwig. He left the room to get more pillows. His mind kept drifting back to Angelique's words. He could remember the silver white hair and those red orbs. The way his brother would laugh. His brother was the only family for Ludwig. Even after the death of his parents, Gilbert stood up and said he would take care of Ludwig, even though he was only five years older than Ludwig himself. Ludwig could remember the way his brother would hold his hand as they walking through the dark place.

"_Don't worry, West! The awesome me will protect you!"_

For Ludwig, his big brother was everything.

_But now, he's your enemy._

No… he wasn't an enemy.

_But then, would you betray Arthur for your brother?_

I don't know.

His train of thought cut short because of the loud sound that came from the next room. His blood ran cold as he realized which room the sound came from. The room where Arthur was!

He quickly ran towards the room and found out the door had been locked. He pounded at the door and yelled, calling for Arthur.

"Arthur! Open the door!" he said.

But Arthur didn't answer. Instead, the crashing sound kept continue. He reached out for his pocket to retrieve his Luger, and realized that he left his gun in his room. He cursed. He couldn't do much magic without his Luger with him! That was when he saw Alfred, Matthew, Kiku, Francis, Antonio, Feliciano and Lovino ran towards him.

"MOVE!" Alfred shouted at him.

Ludwig moved from the door as Alfred took three steps forward and jumped. His fist swung so fast that no one could really see it until he hit the door with his right hook and destroyed it into dust.

The scene before them wasn't good at all.

Arthur was lying there, with an open wound on his shoulder and his left cheeks. The room was destroyed. Alfred came rushing to Arthur's side as Matthew and Ludwig charged into the room. Francis went to the bathroom as Kiku and Antonio checked the opened window to the balcony. Ludwig and Matthew checked the room to make sure no one was there, that the assailant was already left.

Lovino grabbed Feliciano's hand as they kneeled down by Arthur.

"Can you heal him?" asked Alfred.

"We'll try," said Feliciano. It was clear that the Italian was scared, but he knew, right now, they need their magic to heal Arthur.

Feliciano and Lovino put their hands on Arthur's wounds and closed their eyes to concentrate. Slowly, the wounds were closed little by little. Suddenly, the twin stopped as their panting in exhaustion.

"What's wrong?" asked Alfred. "Can't you fully heal him?"

"We can't," said Lovino. "His wounds were caused by a strong magic. It isn't easy to heal it, even with our magic."

"But he's okay now," said Feliciano. "I'll bandage his wounds."

Alfred picked Arthur small frame up softly. Matthew followed him in silence along with the Vargas Brothers. Arthur was unconscious. Never once he opened his eyes. Alfred could only hope Arthur didn't use his magic. God knew what would happen if Arthur did.

After they put Arthur in his room, Alfred refused to leave Arthur alone. He couldn't leave him if something like that might happen again. It was so sudden. After an appearance of mysterious girl, Arthur was attacked. Something was missing.

Alfred stood up from his sitting position next to Arthur's bed and rushed out of the room. But he was stopped by the tall figure of Ludwig in front of Arthur's door.

"Ludwig," said Alfred.

"Alfred," said Ludwig short. "How's Arthur?"

"He's fine," said Alfred. "Anyway, have you seen her? The girl—Angelique?"

Alfred watched as Ludwig's eyes widened in surprise.

"I just want to ask you the same question. I can't find her."

Both men fell into silence. That was when they see Francis walked down the hallway (since his room was two doors from Arthur's).

"Hey Francis!" called Alfred.

"Yes, _mon ami_?" asked the Frenchman.

"Have you seen Angelique?"

"Who?" asked Francis.

"The girl. Dark brown hair, tan skin, red ribbon and blue dress?" asked Ludwig. "She came a few hours ago. You, Antonio and I opened the door for her… She asked to talk to Arthur…"

"What are you talking about, Ludwig?" asked Francis. "There's no such girl coming tonight."

"But she was supposed to sleep on the guest room where we found Arthur!" Alfred said.

"Didn't Arthur just clean that room because the sheet was stained with ink he accidentally dropped when he swept the room?"

Alfred and Ludwig exchanged a confused look. Francis didn't remember the girl? What the hell just happened? They clearly remember talking to that girl about Ivan's family a few hours ago. Francis only shrugged as he walked up to his room.

"Ludwig… you don't think that the girl…"

"I don't know, Alfred," said Ludwig. "There're a lot of questions that I don't know the answers."

* * *

**Okay, I'm not sure if this chapter is good enough... kinda mess up I think... but anyway this is it *shrug***

**Review please? Your review will be as awesome as ore-sama! You can get awesome cookies!**


	4. 3 Encounter

**A/N : Very laaaaatttteeeee update... you see, I have excuse this time! First, I'm writing a new fanfiction (two actually), so you can kill me because of this... and also my college stuff that just won't leave me alone... And... what else? Oh yeah, also my own novel which just begged to be finished, and also I played too much Duel of Fate in my tablet... (Enough with excuses!)**

**I'M SORRY, DEAR READERS OUT THERE!**

**And now, this is the part when I say thank you to : MeinAwesomeness and shinyglaceon1234 for putting this story into their favorite list. And to TheRedFlowerOfFire for the review and being such a wonderful reader. And also to : kankai, AsH-animeX2, americanpopcheck, MysticMaiden 18, and luckei for following this story.**

**Don't forget to read my other fanfiction! Like The Nightfallers and The Fallen (but this one in Indonesian though).**

**On with the story! Brace yourself for grammatical errors! (Feel free to tell me)**

* * *

**ACT. 3**

**Encounter**

* * *

Gilbert Beilschmidt looked through the window as if he tried to memorize each detail of the garden from the first floor. He didn't smile. No, he never smiled even since he joined this family of Ivan. He just let out a small sighed as he watched the blue sky outside the Braginski Mansion.

"Gilbert?"

The sound make the albino guy turned around as he was greeted by the sight of a young man with small built and light brown hair. Raivis Galante stood in front him with his shy smile on his face.

"H-how's your day?" asked Raivis.

"Not bad," said Gilbert coldly. "What is it, Raivis? You aren't here just to ask about my day, are you?"

"No… I just want to talk…" said Raivis.

"Not now, Raivis," said Gilbert.

"It's about Mr. Braginski," said Raivis. The young boy was afraid that Gilbert would snap his neck or stabbed him with his sword. "He said he has an assignment for you."

Gilbert sighed.

"What is it about?"

"He wants you to go to a specific place. I don't know where, but he told me to make you call him as soon as possible."

"That's all?" asked Gilbert.

"Yes, Gilbert," said Raivis.

Gilbert reached out for his cell phone and pushed the numbers he familiar with. He waited for awhile until a childish voice greeted him lightly over the phone.

"Hello, Gilbert!"

"Ivan. Raivis told me to call you. What is it?"

"I have an assignment for you. It will be fun, da? You finally have a chance to make contact with Arthur's family," said Ivan. "You've been waiting for this, da?"

Gilbert smirked. Finally. After waiting for a long time, Gilbert had his chance to make a contact with Arthur's family. He knew nothing of them. But he was eager to know them. Gilbert was tired of this war already, and he knew, all he wanted to do was to end this pointless war. He was wondering though, why Arthur didn't just let Ivan took over the city. Without this war, he could search for his long lost brother. His little brother.

Damn Ivan.

Damn Arthur.

* * *

Feliciano Vargas and Lovino Vargas didn't go to the café today. Since Matthew had to go to one of his clients today, the brothers decided to stay, along with Kiku. They only hoped that nothing bad would happen. Arthur hadn't waked since yesterday. He still slept soundly on his bed while Feliciano sat by his side doing… whatever he was doing.

"Ve~ Arthur hasn't waked up," said Feliciano as he laid his head next to Arthur.

He was bored, but he knew, he couldn't leave Arthur unattended because who knew what would happen? They couldn't let the same thing happen again.

As he could hear Feliciano's boredom, Kiku stepped into the room and smiled at the Italian man.

"Feliciano-kun, why don't you help Lovino-kun to make lunch for us? I can take care of Arthur for you," said Kiku.

"Is it okay?" actually, Feliciano didn't want to leave Arthur. No. He liked to accompany Arthur, but he was bored. He just sat there and did nothing except for drawing in his sketch book to pass time. He just found out that Arthur's sleeping figure was an interesting object to draw. But now, his sketch book was already filled with the pictures of Arthur.

"It's okay," said Kiku.

Feliciano nodded and slowly left the room. Kiku took Feliciano's place next to the bed and stared softly to that sleeping face. This time, he could observed the face better with the soft golden locks that framed his heart-shaped face and the bushy eyebrows that somehow suited him. Arthur Kirkland could look so fragile but strong at the same time.

Kiku reached for one of Arthur's books and began to read to pass time. He stopped though, when he heard Arthur's cell-phone ringing. Kiku looked at the screen and saw that it was Alfred. He picked the phone up.

"_Moshimoshi_?" he greeted.

"_Ah, Kiku? How's Arthur? Has he waked up yet?"_ Kiku could hear the concern in the obnoxious American voice.

"He hasn't, Alfred-kun. How can I help you?"

"_Hmmm… actually, me and Ludwig couldn't make it home by the dinner time. We have to go to the bar for… I don't know what for, but it was an order from our superior. Could you hold the fort for tonight with the others?_"

"Sure. No problem."

"_If Arthur wake up, tell him I'm sorry for not being there. I'll be back home in no time._"

"Yes, Alfred-kun."

"_I'll call you later. Bye._"

"Bye, Alfred-kun."

With that, he dropped the line.

* * *

Ludwig sat on a chair, as he looked around his co-workers. The bar wasn't that crowded, but he never really liked this place. He rather sat in the Manor drinking beer than in this bar. He glanced at Alfred beside him. Alfred didn't look very comfortable, especially with those girls around him. Ludwig could see his fake smile clearly as day.

And that was when it happened.

As Ludwig threw his glance across the room he saw him.

The snow white hair and red orbs that dragged him back into the past. Soon he found himself as a young boy while the similar figure stood beside him and smiled as he stroke his hair.

"_Don't worry, West. I'll protect you."_

"Is something wrong?" a guy with spiky light brown hair and green eyes asked him, snapped him up from his flash back.

Lars van den Berg was one of the most credible guys in the force and Ludwig liked him pretty much because of his efficiency at work. He was quiet, and didn't talk much.

"I'm fine, Lars," said Ludwig. "You're going home already?"

"Have to," said Lars. "My wife waiting for me at home."

"Sure, Lars," said Ludwig.

Ludwig threw his glance across the room once again until he saw the same person. He stood up from his chair and walked up to the figure slowly. He tried to reminisce the past of this familiar man. Ludwig finally stood in front of him, and the albino guy looked back to him, wide-eyed.

"_Bruder_…" said Ludwig softly.

"West?"

* * *

Gilbert couldn't believe it as he saw the man in front of him. Ludwig, his baby brother. The same blond hair, the same icy blue eyes. His breath caught in his throat when he saw him, but Gilbert wasn't really sure until the man approached him, and called him _bruder_. And thus, Gilbert knew that this man was really his little West (though he was taller than Gilbert now).

He didn't know what to say. None of them moved an inch from where they stood. Damn it! He was searching for his long lost baby brother, and now, when he met him, he didn't know what to do. Both of them just stood there and did nothing. Both of them were speechless.

"H-how are you, _Bruder_?" asked Ludwig.

"I'm fine, West. How about you?"

"Doing fine…"

Ludwig really didn't know what he was supposed to do. He really didn't know. All he wanted was to hug this man—his brother—tightly and told him that he didn't want to be apart again. The moment of silence was broken when Ludwig's cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Ludwig stared at the caller ID and realized that it was from Feliciano. He picked up the phone while motioned to Gilbert to wait.

"I'm in the middle of something, Feli," said Ludwig.

"_I-it's Arthur… Something's wrong with him_!" Feliciano sounded very hysterical over the phone, and it caused Ludwig's blood ran cold.

"What's wrong, Feliciano?!"

"_H-he… he was suddenly waked up… and… and… H-he didn't say anything a-and walked out of the house… Lovi, Kiku and I tried to stop him… but… but…_"

"Wait a second, Feli…" said Ludwig. "ALFRED!"

He turned around and saw Alfred with his phone on his ear and looked at the younger man grew paler than usual. Seemed like Alfred had heard the same news from Kiku or Lovino. He should've known not to leave Arthur just with Feliciano, Lovino, and Kiku. It wasn't because they were weak (hell, they could be the strongest of the family in their ability), but three just simply didn't enough.

"Sit tight, Feliciano. We're coming," said Ludwig. He hung up and turned to look at Gilbert to say sorry, but the albino guy had gone.

Damn it.

* * *

**A/N : Done! If you haven't realize, Lars is Netherlands...**

**I'm sorry for the shortness.. but please, review? *insert Arthur's cutest puppy eyes here***


End file.
